Geraldine Fibbers - Butch
As the album title intimated, the Geraldine Fibbers' 1995 major-label debut Lost Somewhere Between The Earth And My Home staked out uncharted musical territory. It was a mesh of art-rock sonics, street-tough stances and an underlying shade of rustic country, and it left many a critic and listener tongue-tied
Minus 5 - The Lonesome Death Of Buck McCoy
This is how long it has taken singer, guitarist and songwriter Scott McCaughey to get within spitting distance of a major-label record deal: When his original band the Young Fresh Fellows made their LP debut in 1984 with The Fabulous Sounds Of The Pacific Northwest, that title was an impish
Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys - Feelin' Kinda Lucky
It is not easy to straddle musical fences the way Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys do. They may be retro down to the 1949 bus they tour the country in, but they bring western swing, hillbilly music and roots-rock raging into the last days of the 20th century.
Feelin&
Bill Frisell - Nashville
Bill Frisell is a guitar genius. Any of his multitude of collaborators -- from John Zorn and Arto Lindsay to Elvis Costello and Marianne Faithfull -- can attest to that. What's becoming increasingly clear, though, is that he is also a brilliant composer. A bona fide American original,
Big Back Forty - Bested
If nothing else, this debut from Columbus, Ohio, band Big Back Forty functions as a test case as to why it's probably not a good idea to solicit opinions before listening to a record. A friend of mine who lives in Columbus compared this quartet to the fantastic
Big Blue Hearts - Self-Titled
This San Francisco band signed Geffen last year within a month of playing its first live gig, and lead singer/songwriter David Fisher had never written a song until three years ago. Big Blue Hearts appear deserving of such attention based on this promising debut.
Big Blue Hearts is jammed